Dame Clare Marx obituary

Clare Marx’s credo was that a surgeon’s skill-set should encompass empathy, listening and kindness as much as science and technique. Photograph: General Medical Council

The trailblazing surgeon Clare Marx, who has died aged 68 from pancreatic cancer, broke innumerable glass ceilings and leaves a profound legacy. As the first female chair of the General Medical Council, she brought a culture of compassionate leadership to the organisation and consistently championed women in medicine.

Working initially at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, west London, Marx was the first British female trauma and orthopaedic (T&O) surgical trainee (1981) and the first female T&O consultant (1990). Surgery in this field was a bastion of masculinity, and Marx got used to incredulity and being asked “if my hands were big enough” or “when I plan to leave the playing field to the boys”.